Product Description

Vifa P13WH-00-08 5" polypropylene cone woofer. North D25-06S 25mm silk dome tweeter that was designed by George Short exclusively for North Creek Music Systems. Fully assembled and tested crossover networks consisting of geometrically optimized 16 AWG inductors in the woofer section, 14 AWG in the tweeter section, North power resistors, Zen metallized polypropylene film capacitors bypassed by Harmony metallized polypropylene film capacitors in the tweeter section, and electrolytic capacitors in the woofer section. All crossover components are hand matched to ± 1%. Single wired. 59Hz-20kHz ±2dB, 8 ohm impedance, 85.5dB sensitivity, kit includes everything but the cabinet.

User Reviews

Overall Rating:

Value Rating:

Submitted by
kevinsapp
a Audio Enthusiast

Date Reviewed: December 15, 2004

Bottom Line:

These are my 3rd DIY projects and first experience working with George Short of North Creek music. George is a veteran in the audio field. His coils, resistors, etc are used by other well known and respected speaker designers. Just google for him or his product names and you will find he hangs with some *very* respected people in the field.

The etire purchase process was execellent with North Creek answering all questions in detail and w/o attitude. The speaker plans were easy to follow, but require some carpentry skills to complete. Packaging and shipping were also outstanding. Delivered on time.

Component quality is incredible for $300.
Vifa mid/woofers, North tweeters for the drivers, but more impressive for the money are the crossovers. Very, very clean designs, hardwired, point to point. The coils HUGE even for the low end of the product line. The component quality far exceeds other kits I have purchased and built (see my profile).

Sound.
They take a little time to break in, so give them a week or so. Imaging is amazing, better than the Emeralds, Gemini and the CMD 2. Resolution and clarity is good also. They surpass the CDM and the ACI, but not the Gemini. Mapleshade music sampler is one of my favorite test disks for its variety and natural recording methods. These little speakers really put you there. If I had this knowledge before I purcahsed the B&Ws, ACI or Gemini kits, hands down the North Creeks would be selected. The only second thought would be if I sould upgrade the tweeters or to a more expensive kit.

Bass.
The will not thump your chest for movie sound tracks. For their size, they go pretty low. If you listen to mainly rock or pop you will not miss too much, but for movies and jazz a sub adds what is missing.

Comparing to B&W 703's
A friend recently purchased these and I he wanted some rear channels to borrorow, so while they were there we performed a completely unfair comparison. $3000 vs $300. Sorry, the North Creeks did not sound better than the $3000 703's. Did not expect that they would. The 703's had better resolution, better clarity and were much more efficient. They were also brighter, a little too bright for me. Bass, not a fair comparisson, 703's. The Norths put up a good battle, after listening to the 703's the Norths were still listenable, no, yuk turn those things off feelings.

I recently ordered NorthCreeks Vision and Thunder kits. I recommended the Okara kits to a friend with a sub for a home theater setup. He purchased the North Creek Poseidon sub kit. The Poseidon goes lower and cleaner than my DIY NHT 1259.

If you have reservations about North Creek music and the quality of their products, don't. If you have carpentry skills and can build a speaker box, I have not found anything equal to the North Creek kits from a salon or in a kit. George has won a loyal life long customer.